Creating new drugs for bone healing is the ultimate target of the collaboration between Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) in New Zealand and Singapore’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (ICMB).

“Stem cell therapies are recognized as the next major leap in the biotechnology race to cure human disease,” Dr Richard Furneaux of IRL says.

The unique advantage of carbohydrate molecules is they allow stem cells to differentiate outside their natural cell environment. By drawing on their knowledge of carbohydrate chemistry IRL scientists will work to determine the structures for building synthetic molecules for pre-clinical research and applications.

“We saw IMCB as a leader in the field and are thrilled to be starting this major collaboration at the forefront of science. IRL has one of only a few chemistry teams in the world with the expertise to work in this field,” Dr Furneaux adds.